Leonardo has secured a four-year, $72 million contract to help the British navy design, build and test an uncrewed helicopter.
The Italian aerospace and defense company will aim to produce a three-tonne demonstrator and test the system’s viability as a potential alternative to current Royal Navy aircraft intended for anti-submarine warfare operations.
The ministry expects the maiden flight of the unmanned platform to happen sometime in 2025 and estimates the development project will support 100 jobs at the contractor’s facility in Yeovil, England.
Future demonstrator trials will look at the possibility of deploying sonobuoys from the aircraft to perform underwater vessel tracking and communications with a crewed helicopter.
The project will also explore the potential applications of Leonardo’s uncrewed aircraft in cargo resupply between ships and evacuation of casualties.
